It's Always The Quiet Ones
by multiples of six
Summary: Natalie doesn't know how to tell Susan she likes her. Fortunately, aliens are around to help. [femmeslash, one shot]


**A/N: Since Natalie is such a minor character, I should probably explain who she is.. the only appearance she makes in the books is when she's Sorted into Gryffindor in GoF.****  
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**It's Always The Quiet Ones  
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For the first few months of Natalie McDonald's third year at Hogwarts, talk of the war overshadowed the whispers about aliens. Starting sometime in September, the rumours were quiet but persistent. No one knew what planet they were supposed to have come from or whether their intentions were good or ill. Some people believed in them and some thought it was a load of bollocks, but they couldn't deny that everyone in the school had heard about them.

One cold day in November, when the whispers had trickled down even to the quietest, shyest, least popular students, such as Natalie herself, a discussion about the ghosts broke out in the library.

"The aliens are green, I tell you, light green. They have huge heads and skinny bodies. I seen one, I'm telling you. It asked me how to get to the loo," an older Hufflepuff boy told the laughing group.

Natalie pulled her robes more tightly around her and glanced in their direction.

"It's no matter for jokes," a dotty-looking Ravenclaw girl replied. "They are real. They look just like us. They walk among us."

"She's one of them, obviously," the boy said, and the others laughed some more.

Natalie didn't speak. She never spoke in groups; she was far too shy. She thought about the aliens, though. They didn't exist, of course. It was impossible. She resolved to ignore all talk of aliens in the future.

As she picked up her things to leave, the only person at the table whose name she knew looked at her. Susan Bones was another of the seventh-year Hufflepuffs. She wore her hair in a long reddish plait down her back, which Natalie had always found very pretty; she also had quite possibly the nicest rack in Hogwarts. In any case, Susan was one of the only people at Hogwarts who took any notice of her. "Hey, Natalie," she said now, smiling at her.

"Hi, Susan."

As she walked away, she overheard the older girl resuming the conversation. "I believe in aliens."

---

In December, more rumours began to circulate. "I hear the aliens can control us," a freckled, red-haired girl said one day at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

"What can they make you do?" someone asked.

The girl pursed her lips. "I don't know. Anything they want, I reckon."

This too soon became common knowledge. The question was no longer whether you believed in aliens, but whether you believed in aliens with mind-controlling powers.

---

Natalie McDonald sat in the back of most of her classes, where she would attract the least attention. Her least favourite class was the History of Magic; it was possibly the most boring thing ever invented. The two boys sitting a couple of rows ahead of her were forever passing notes and laughing at each other. Sometimes Natalie wished she had a friend with whom she could have fun in dull classes. Until then, though, she could always watch these two.

One day shortly before the Christmas break, the class was more boring than usual. Instead of staring at what the teacher was writing on the blackboard, Natalie watched the boys. One looked at the other, then glanced at Professor Binns and back. The second boy gave an imperceptible nod.

Taking his wand from within his robes, the boy flicked it at the teacher. Immediately, his translucent trousers fell to his knees, revealing some ghostly briefs. Binns gasped and, after yanking his pants back up, spun around and demanded who had done this.

"It was me, Professor," the second boy said. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't help it. The aliens made me do it!"

"Oh. Well, all right then," Binns said, and returned to teaching.

Natalie sat, shocked, at the back of the room. The aliens wouldn't have made those boys exchange that glance; they had clearly come up with that before. And yet, they got away with it…

---

After the break, things kept getting stranger. Students would do anything from shouting out in class to jumping on their beds to throwing food at each other in the Great Hall, and as soon as they were reprimanded they would lower their eyes deferentially and apologize. "The aliens, the aliens. The aliens made me do it."

One day the tests the fifth-year Potions students were supposed to write were discovered floating in the lake.

A different time, classes were cancelled all afternoon because all of the girls' robes had inexplicably become transparent.

On another occasion, the Gryffindor dorm had to be evacuated because someone had filled the common room from top to bottom with Whizzing Worms.

Even when the culprits were found, they could not be punished. Their explanations were foolproof. Who would dare to doubt the legitimacy of their excuse?

As time passed, the aliens seemed to become more and more power-hungry; increasing numbers of people fell under their spell.

---

Natalie was not affected until February. It was an ordinary day, but she had grown tired of sitting mutely at the Gryffindor table at lunch and was walking alone through the deserted halls. Aliens were the last thing on her mind. She was thinking about Susan Bones, and how pretty she was when she smiled.

A voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hi there, Natalie." It was Susan.

Natalie froze and stared. Susan's brown eyes were large and kind, and her lips were so full and alluring. If she could only…

But, of course, she could!

She broke out of her daze. Without letting herself think about what she was doing, she strode confidently forward. All of a sudden, Natalie was kissing her, kissing her hard and passionately. And Susan – could Susan kissing her back?

Natalie decided not to push her luck and broke away. "Oh my God, Susan, I'm so, so sorry. It was the aliens, I swear. The aliens made me do it!"

Before the other girl could reply, Natalie ran off. Alone in the girls' room, she pressed her fingers to her lips. It had been her first kiss.

---

For the next few days, Natalie was unable to stop thinking about the kiss. It had only lasted a few seconds, but she had spent hours going over every detail of every second. How soft Susan's lips were; how they tasted like chocolate ice cream; how Susan's eyes had closed before her own did.

And yet, had it been worth it? For a few seconds – although they had possibly been the greatest few seconds of her life – she had probably forfeited her entire friendship, such as it were, with the older girl. Susan wasn't going to act the same around her now. How could she? She had probably seen clear through the stupid "aliens" excuse and knew Natalie was a raging muff-muncher.

Now, as Natalie studied alone in an isolated section of the library, she couldn't help from letting out a small sigh.

This time, she saw Susan first. She was walking through the stacks of books, looking slightly lost. "Susan!" she called out without thinking. She instantly regretted it.

Susan's eyes fixed on her, as though she was what she had been looking for. Her pace quickened as she came toward Natalie. Without a word, she pulled her chair out from under the table and deposited herself on the younger girl's lap. Before Natalie could react, her tongue was in her mouth and her hands were in her hair.

A minute later, Susan drew back. "The aliens," she panted, "made me do it." She left.

In that instant, Natalie went from a skeptic to a believer. The aliens had to exist, or why would Susan have kissed her?

---

Natalie had no one to talk to about these events, but Susan clearly did. "They keep making me snog this one girl," Susan said as she was leaving the Transfiguration classroom. Natalie had the same subject right after her and was going into the room. "A third-year Gryffindor, Natalie McDonald. Do you know her? She's quite pretty, really. Oh! There she is now!"

Susan's friends turned to look at Natalie, who blushed. The last thing she expected at that moment was for Susan to pull her into her arms in front of the entire class. However, she wasn't complaining. She leaned into her, enjoying the kiss.

"What is going on here?" Professor McGonagall did not sound amused.

"Aliens," one of the Hufflepuffs said, "making 'em do it."

"Oh, all right then," McGonagall replied.

When they parted, no one was looking at them. Alien take-overs were an everyday occurrence, after all. However, as Natalie took her seat, she saw Susan's friend nudge her. "Lucky!" the girl exclaimed. "She's cute!"

---

In the next few months, Natalie and Susan continued to make out every time they saw each other. In addition to hallways, the library, and the classrooms, the Gryffindor dorm, the Hufflepuff dorm, various girls' washrooms, several stores in Honeydukes, and even the Great Hall became trysting grounds. Other students knew them as "those two girls who are hooking up all the time," and took it in stride. Susan's friends began to like Natalie and treated her as one of them.

Although at the beginning they exchanged few words apart from the obligatory disclaimer about the aliens, with time they grew more comfortable talking to each other and even joking about what was going on.

"I think you're enjoying being under the aliens' control a little too much," Susan would say.

Natalie would give her a long, passionate kiss, then smirk, "Who's enjoying it now?"

Or Natalie would say, "I think the aliens want me to start feeling you up when we snog," followed by a not-so-playful grope.

Susan would counter with, "I think the aliens want me to give you a spanking."

They held hands sometimes.

---

However, all good things must come to an end.

It was a Friday afternoon in May, shortly before dinnertime. Susan and Natalie were in the library, each studying their different subjects. They would have looked like model students, except for how they kept stopping every five minutes when one or the other of them would initiate a snogging session.

"Aliens?" one would ask.

"Aliens," the other would confirm.

At seven, they proceeded to the Great Hall for dinner. Before the food was served, Professor McGonagall stood up. "I have an announcement to make," she said, waiting for the room to quiet. "At one o'clock this afternoon, the aliens who have been creating havoc in Hogwarts for the last several months were apprehended and overpowered."

Hagrid came in, holding two slim, lime-green creatures by the ears. "Ye ha' anythin' ter say fer yeselves, ye little rascals?" he asked them.

One responded in a high, flutey voice. Its English was halting but unaccented. "We apologize for what we have done. It was all in fun. We have not made any mischief since we were captured, and we will not again."

Natalie stared in disbelief. She had known the aliens existed, of course, but if they hadn't been controlling minds all this afternoon, what had Susan been doing kissing her? There was only one explanation for this.

---

After dinner, she met up with Susan in the hallway. "Aliens aren't very good people," she said. "First with the mind control, and now with the lying. Obviously they were still using whatever powers they have to make us snog this afternoon."

Susan shook her head. "I think they were telling the truth."

"What do you mean? Obviously they were lying. Why else would you have kissed me this afternoon?"

The corners of Susan's mouth turned up in a small smile. "Because I wanted to?"

Natalie blinked. "No," she said firmly. "The aliens made you do it."

"The aliens did not make me do it."

"Did too!"

"Did not."

"Did too, did too, did – oh!" Natalie was cut off by Susan's lips on hers again.

"Do you believe me now?"

She shook her head. "You must still be under the aliens' control."

"Why is it so hard for you to believe," Susan said, backing the girl against the wall, "that I want to kiss you," she continued, pressing her hipbones against hers, "for no other reason," she breathed into her ear, "than that you are sexy, and smart, and funny, and basically," she whispered into her lips, "everything I want in a woman?"

Natalie took a second to think about it. "I guess it's not," she said, and she kissed her again.


End file.
